"Please, follow me, noble warriors!" said the leading woman in the kimono. All the other people and Digimon all around them nodded in the same, monotone way.
Kitsunemon carefully watched them. It was scary somehow, they weren't blinking, they weren't moving at all, and the humans were all clothed in the same, archaic clothing, consisting of kimonos for the women and hakamas for the men. A few Digimon were carrying torches with them.
"They are not acting normally," Nalamon whispered into her fuzzy ear.
"I can see that," Kitsunemon whispered back. "Someone must have done something to them."
"Millenniummon..." Ryo grumbled. "His powers must be growing if he's able to do something like that... although he had never been able to do anything like this before."
"Maybe the RPG Maker is to blame," Canismon assumed.
"I'm rather surprised that we still are on our Champion Level," Bariomon murmured as he knelt down next to them. "So, what shall we do?"
Ryo shrugged. "We can't fight them, they are innocent... although I doubt they can stop us if we decide to bail."
"I dunno..." Brawlmon frowned. "Those Ninjamon over there are looking rather strong..."
"What do you say, Harmony?" Nalamon whispered to her canine friend. No response. "Harmony?"
"You think she's talking to her 'other half' again?" Megalomon asked.
Kitsunemon peered over where the humans and Digimon were still waiting for them, with the same, strange smile etched on their faces. "Well, I hope they hurry up... those guys give me the creeps."
"Henry, what do you mean?" Within their shared mind, Harmony was talking to Henry. In here, both looked like their human selves.
"I mean that this looks like a trap," Henry told her. "We shouldn't just go with them. Millenniummon knows we are coming."
"So, what do you suggest? We just run away?"
Henry shook his head. "No, we don't know how they will react... and if the Digimon attack us, we might have to defend ourselves. I don't want to harm anyone unless absolutely necessary."
"Yeah, me neither," Harmony nodded. "But you have a plan?"
"Actually, I do," the half-asian boy smiled at his female self. "We'll come with them... but we don't follow them into Millenniummon's lair."
"How do you plan on doing that?" she frowned.
"Trust me, every RPG must follow its rules, I'm certain," Henry said. "Just leave everything to me."
"All right... but I hope you know what you're doing!"
"Hey, I'm you!" Henry grinned. "I wouldn't do anything you wouldn't do if you were in the same situation."
"Well, you boys tend to be a bit cocky," Harmony smirked. "But I guess I'll have to trust you. But don't screw it up, you hear me?"
"Oh, don't worry, I won't!"
Canismon blinked and shook her head.
"Are you back with us, finally?" Ryo asked.
Canismon stared down at her impressive bosom. Then she sighed. "I guess I'll never get used to this new feminity..."
"Lemme guess, Henry?" Bariomon grinned. "Now what did you and Harmony talk about?"
"Oh, I just told her about a plan I came up with."
"What kind of plan?" Nalamon wondered.
"I believe I can convince those guys not to bring us to Millenniummon," Henry replied.
"Oh yeah?" Gargomon asked. "And how do you plan on doing that?"
Henry gave him Canismon's canine grin. "Just watch me!"
And she approached the woman who was Kai's true mother.
"Are you ready to meet our lord now?" she asked with a fake smile.
"First, I'd like to point out that we are rather tired," Henry told her. "Isn't there a place where we could rest before going to your master? I would definitely feel better after a good night's rest and some food." She sniffed her armpits. "A shower would be nice, too."
The woman hesitated. Deep within her, her master's voice told her to bring him the intruders.
But then, something else invaded her possessed mind. It was the influence of the RPG Maker, who had turned all of Japan into the playground for the game they were just playing...
"Our village is close by," she then said in an emotionless voice. "If you would follow us, we'll take you there."
Her companions still didn't say anything. They just grinned at the Hybrid Tamers with their empty eyes.
"Thank you, that would be great!" Canismon smiled.
While the possessed people and Digimon walked ahead, she turned around to her friends. "C'mon, what are you waiting for? Aren't you tired?"
They stared at her with gaping mouths. "You're just going to follow them?" Ryo finally asked. "Aren't you afraid they're gonna lure us into a trap?"
"Not really," Henry grinned. "You know, we are still part of an RPG, remember?"
"We know that," Kitsunemon replied in an irritated voice. "So what's your point?"
"We just finished a special level with a boss fight at its end, right?" Henry asked. "Well, it would be unusual to head straight into the next enemy area without being able to at least save your game. And I think I figured the system of the RPG Maker out, at least a bit... If we pull the plot into the right direction, it might just change enough to our own advantage. The game tends to act like a normal game would, and in most games, the heros normally would go to the next town or village before taking on the next hard challenge... especially if being confronted by a dangerous opponent such as Millenniummon. So I just asked them if there was a village nearby, and obviously, that was all the RPG Maker needed to create one for us."
Bariomon whistled. "I would have never thought of that. But you are right, it would be stupid to attack the next boss without restoring your health and stocking up on items."
Kitsunemon took a deep breath. She would never get used to this strange concept of RPGs.
"So, what's your decision, sis?" Brawlmon asked her.
Kitsunemon cocked her head. "What?"
Brawlmon smirked and ruffled her little sister's head fur affectionally. "You are the leader, remember? So it's your decision what we'll do. Now, shall we go after them?"
"Oh, all right!" the four-legged vixen sighed. "But I still don't like this..."
Catching up with the possessed islanders was no problem, as they were walking rather slowly.
"Ah yes, the slow pace of the NPCs," Gargomon sighed. "Annoying as ever..."
"Just a moment, and we'll reach our village, dear guests," Kai's mother smiled. "Lord Millenniummon will be glad that we treated his guests with such care..."
"We appreciate your kind efforts," Nalamon smiled.
"Whatever..." Kitsunemon murmured as she trotted after them. "I just hope that this decision was no mistake..." She flicked her ears in annoyance. "And why don't we digivolve back?" she snarled. "I've had enough of walking on four legs."
"You think it's fun for us to be this big all the time?" Megalomon grumbled when his head hit another tree branch. "I wonder if we'll even fit into their houses..."
"They'll probably have bigger houses for Digimon as well," his blue-scaled brother speculated. "Didn't you see that Monzaemon with them? I bet that there's at least one house for Digimon of his size in the village, and he's barely taller than us."
Finally, they reached the village. It was a small village with wooden huts underneath palm trees. All in all, it was the perfect image of a rural, Japanese village from the middle ages - only that it was populated by both humans and Digimon.
"We welcome you to Minomon Village," Kai's mother said as she turned around and bowed.
"Minomon?" Megalomon wondered.
Just then, a small, green Digimon within what looked like a cocoon or fir cone was dropping down from a palm tree, attached to a brown string.
"Mino," it said. "Mino Mino!"
"I see..." Megalomon murmured. "That's why it's called 'Minomon Village...'"
All around them, more Minomon dropped out of the palm trees, all of them hanging down with their silk threads and shouting 'Mino Mino!' in excitement.
"They always warn us if strangers appear in our village," Kai's mother smiled.
'And I bet they also warn them if any of their guests tries to leave the village...' Henry pondered. 'That means we can't just leave in the night...'
'At least we're safe... for now!' Harmony told him in private.
"Please feel free to enjoy everything our village has to offer," Kai's mother said as she bowed. "Call me if you need anything... I'm the owner of the inn over there. If you feel tired, please pay us a visit."
And suddenly, all members of the group that brought them here turned around and scattered all throughout the village, several of them vanishing in their huts and houses.
"So, now we're here," Nalamon said. "And what now?"
Kitsunemon chuckled. "Now... we'll go shopping!"
Everyone stared at her in surprise. Ryo felt her furry forehead. "Rika... are you feeling fine?"
"Of course I am! But if we're safe now, shouldn't we stock up on our items?" She grinned. "This is an RPG, after all."
Brawlmon snickered. "Good point, Rika! You're catching up, sis!"
While Kitsunemon couldn't help but feel proud at her older sister's words, she had to remind herself that originally, this was just her Digimon partner and friend. She also noticed that Renamon's pattern of behavior seemed to slip back towards how it had been when she was a human... at least when she was Brawlmon.
"I really wonder why we can't digivolve back..." she muttered to herself.
A short distance away from the Tamers, a Minomon lowered itself down from its palm tree. "Mino Mino!"
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(Posted Fri, 07 Dec 2007 19:13)
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